Charcuterie Creations For The Holidays Photo by My Jewish Mommy Life IG I am not sure if you noticed, but charcuterie boards are the latest popular item of the year. My young adult daughters have been making charcuterie boards on Thanksgiving for years. Even my nephew has one almost every Friday with wine, and he’ll tell you it’s one of his biggest accomplishments. In fact, I recently bought him a large bamboo cheese board with serving tools to up his charcuterie game. If you search #charcuterieboard on Instagram, you’ll find some exemplary works of art. Most charcuterie boards consists of mainly meats and cheeses, but it doesn’t stop there. The “fancier” ones can include bread, fruits, nuts, and condiments such as honey or mustard (or even honey mustard), pickles, and olives. The latest trend is holiday charcuterie boards. You’ll find images all over IG with some of the sweetest, most decadent chocolate and candy masterpieces. […]

December is the best month filled with holiday cheer, amazing food, and time spent with family but before this fun time happens, students have to get through the struggles of finals week. If you are anything like my student, finals week is a stressful one. And with finals going virtual this year, some students may be taking them from home. We turned to our interns, many of whom are juniors and seniors for their top tips for finals week.

And So the Story Goes… Winter break, visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, family time, and maybe a family vacation; and having your student home. But your vision and your student’s vision of winter break may just be polar opposites. Add to this vision is that students who leave for Thanksgiving will have the choice to finish up the semester online with the new semester not starting until mid to late January (some schools are even starting later). Many of us will have them home for 6 weeks or more. Some will take COVID tests before coming home for Thanksgiving if they have not already tested positive. Some will still need to social distance from their family. And for those you go back after Thanksgiving, perhaps they will need another test before returning home for winter break. With many students finishing up the semester at home, they will need a […]

Here we come, home for Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years, so we are going t need to compromise. For students, coming home for Thanksgiving this year doesn’t necessarily just mean a 3-day break where we come home on Wednesday and are gone by Sunday because most colleges have decided to go online after Thanksgiving. This means that we will likely not make our return to campus until mid-January of 2021, if not later if that is what we choose to do. Some students who have leases are choosing to return to school after Thanksgiving and ride out the three weeks of in-between. Students in dorms also have the option to come back, but others may choose to stay home. Most sorority houses will be open for the two weeks after Thanksgiving so women will have a place to take exams.

What You Should Do Before You Head Out for Holiday Break Right before students head out for Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break, they’ve spent the week finishing up assignments, holed up in the library studying for exams, living off coffee (or any form of caffeine), and a meager diet.  By the time they are finished, almost ready to just get home and catch up on sleep and have a home-cooked meal, they forget that there are certain things they need to do before they head out. Now we have said they are sleep-deprived so you may want to gently remind them of some items they should take care of before they leave, less they risk coming back to their dorm or apartment smelling of rotten food, possible bugs, missing items. Here is that list: The Kitchen: Throw away all perishable food that may expire before they leave (or pack it […]

It is hard to believe that the holidays are right around the corner. For this year’s holiday gift guide, we’ve sent out our interns to pull together an unscientific list of gift ideas… we’re just the messengers. We asked them for ideas and they gave us everything from lowcost to lavish, from the newest releases to timeless picks… from the usual to the unique. We’ve even included some charities to donate to as that is part of our family tradition. I believe we are all just hoping for a holiday filled with family, good health, love, joy, and blessings.

We know how busy you are and how sometimes thinking about gift-giving is the last thing on the list. Coming up with a clever, thoughtful, and decent gift can be a challenge. HaveUHeard spends a lot of time coming up with great ideas for you and your college student. Then we find ways to save you money too. Most of our gift guides feature some kind of savings.  Take a look at these simple ideas, presented to you as a theme. You could theme your holiday and have everything surrounding just one theme. that certainly will narrow down all the speculation. Your kids will remember the yoga Christmas or the Apple Hanukkah. That just might make this 2020 holiday time easier to swallow. 

Finding a great holiday gift is not about spending a lot of money, it’s about considering the receiver and what would make them really happy. Don’t get hung up on the prices, we are all tightening our belts after the roller coaster ride that was 2020. Maybe you just need a bit of inspiration to spark your gift buying muscle.

Goal! Team! Spirit! We love sports! We also love, love, love our sports fans. No matter the state of sports attendance this year, we know your dyed-in-the-wool dedicated sports fan would love some great themed sports gifts.

I had a really big holiday stocking which meant lots of good loot! The heavy stuff always slipped down into the toe. There would be, an apple or orange, candy, funny stuff, useful stuff, and one really really good prezzi. Ok so here in Florida there aren’t many fireplaces to hang stockings, nor are there many staircases to hang them from either. So you’ll need to get creative! Let us know where you hang your stockings! While you’re figuring that out shop for some of these great stocking stuffers for your favorite student!

2020 might be the longest and quickest year we’ve endured, and to add to it, we’re almost at the start of the holiday season! The pumpkins are on display and now the turkeys are on their way (didn’t mean to rhyme there, but we love it). Are you wondering what gifts to hide under the tree or next to the menorah? Holiday shopping might be tough this year considering we rarely leave the house, but we’re loving anything personalized these days! Whether jewelry, custom loungewear, or household items, Etsy is our absolute go-to for the holidays!

Getting Accepted to The College of Your Choice So you want to be an …. Owl, Nole, Gator, Knight, Bull, Osprey, Dawg, Terp, Hoosier, and more. There is so much to consider when choosing what colleges to apply to but, when you get that list together, there are usually one or two that are on top. Most students decide early on that they want to be Nole, Terp, Gator, and so on. The big question is “What is it going to take to get accepted?”  While there are no guarantees, there are definitely specifics that each college looks for. Test scores and high school grades fall into ranges that shift slightly each year depending on who got accepted the year before. These are all estimates, of course, but the statistics provide a clear idea of where you will need to be. Many schools also want to know more about a student than […]

You may have already toured some of the colleges your student is considering, but once the acceptances start coming in, students have to make decisions as to where they envision themselves for real. Your students may have specific things that will help them weigh out the pros and cons of each college and they may be rather diverse from the things that you are interested in for them. Either way, taking a tour can help make a big decision.

Imagine if colleges could personally interview all their applicants before deciding who will receive an acceptance or a rejection. It will surely give them a better picture of each student; a glimpse at what their grades, test scores, and formal resumes do not show. That is the purpose of the college essay or the personal statement. This is the place to showcase not only your writing skills but to expose a bit of who you are because you are surely far more than numbers. This is one of those rare times in life where you can essentially brag a bit.

When my daughter sent a picture of herself holding up the beautiful charcuterie board she made to share with some friends on her birthday, I admit I was rather surprised. I, or anyone I knew, would never have prepared, or probably known what a charcuterie board was, way back when I went to college. I knew she had a sophisticated palate, but I also liked to believe that the allowance I sent weekly was moderate enough that she was learning to eat on a budget. However, I also learned that charcuterie boards are “a thing” amongst the college sect and they can be put together on a moderate budget. 

In a recent news story, it was reported that graduate school enrollment may increase in the coming months and years. Not surprised, because it seems like a positive thing for new graduates to do with their idle time if they can’t find a job. We still began to wonder if it is the best option. The truth is, we are all about furthering one’s education. The question; however, still remains as to whether the benefits of additional schooling will outweigh the prospective job opportunities during a) an economic turndown b) the hovering unprecedented times and c) the student’s chosen field. It’s not like grad school is suddenly going to be free; therefore, possibly, requiring student loans.

Graduating during a pandemic is not at all how I imagined starting my life as an adult. When I was a student at the University of Central Florida, I spent years fantasizing about how my life would be after graduation. I would travel for a few months before jumpstarting my dream career, making a lot of friends along the way. Instead of what I was daydreaming, I got the exact opposite. I couldn’t even finish my senior year of college in person. As soon as I left campus to go home for Spring Break, I never went back. I never got the chance to say celebrate downtown one last time, take my senior pictures, or say goodbye to my very best friends.

HaveUHeard provides the inside scoop from current students and parents; a been there, done that approach from trusted sources… A place to get information right at your fingertips instead of having to go searching on many other websites. We do an extensive amount of research in answering every question. But, we go the extra mile, bringing our own personal experience and provide practical real-life advice.

From textbooks to tutoring, from writing papers to crushing exams, Chegg is A Smarter Way to Student®. This web-based education tech company provides digital and physical textbook rentals, online tutoring, and other student services. As a subscriber, you get access to step-by-step guides, 24/7 homework help, and more. With classes starting out predominantly virtual, it becomes even more important to make sure you have all the tools you need in place to succeed.

For high school seniors who will not know what school they are attending, you can submit a FAFSA application for schools you are planning on attending and then update your application down the road. If your financial situation has changed since filing a tax return, do not hold off and starting the application process. You can discuss the change in finances with the financial affairs office once you know your student’s school.